Review

Skindred. An oddity within the metal world. They combine reggae and metal to mixed results. Yes you read that right, reggae and metal. Union Black was their latest studio effort and is arguably their strongest album so far, with some groovy riffs and the usual hilariously varied vocal performance from Benji Webb. The album has some of their best songs so far and is really a rather enjoyable album.

The guitar work here is not the stuff that will set the world afire but is certainly good fun. The riffs are catchy and make for a solidly heavy foundation for the music, the bass is completely inaudible and the drums make for a solid beat. It is Benji's vocals that always take center stage for me with Skindred however and this is no different here. Cut Dem, Doom Riff and Warning, aside from having silly song titles, may well be their best vocals to date. Warning in particular sticks out, with some aggressive rapping from Benji in his overly Jamaican accent, and later on it has a cool guest appearance from the Papa Roach vocalist. The section with Jacoby from Papa Roach is one of the strongest moments of the album, although the lyrics leave something to be desired, with lines such as "a bare vexation ah run tru ma brain".

Union Black was a solid effort from the band that they will hopefully build upon in future with an album that tops this one.